1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to methods and systems for managing commercial enterprise resources, more particularly healthcare facility resources, most particularly for managing healthcare clinical hours provided per patient per day per facility, preferably per acuity/care level.
2. Related Art
National and local economies are rapidly blending into a single global economy. Fluctuations in prices in one geographic location inevitably affect prices in other geographic regions. Similarly, businesses having a local office and a few regional offices are transitioning into companies servicing an international market. As businesses grow and add additional offices or facilities, the entire enterprise becomes a series of interconnected offices.
Each office or facility of an enterprise can affect the overall performance of the enterprise. Thus, the allocation of resources in one unit can impact the commercial viability of a large enterprise. Typically, commercial enterprises budget resources to maximize profitability. Computer-based systems and procedures for budgeting and forecasting corporate performance and for monitoring and evaluating actual performance relative to budget or forecast are known in the art and include spreadsheet technology.
The process of budgeting enterprise resources can be an extensive and time consuming task. Large amounts of enterprise data are typically entered into a spreadsheet program such as Excel or Lotus 1-2-3 to generate a profit/loss analysis. Typically, the data used in these calculations is stale by at least a few days, more typically a few weeks. Also, as a result of the time lag between the data and the final data analysis, the current enterprise performance with regard to budget can only be estimated.
A further challenge to the effective management of any geographically dispersed organization is the timely exchange of, and access to, critical information. This challenge is particularly pronounced in the areas where regional regulations or recommended guidelines greatly impact resource allocations and the budget. Ideally, data collected in real time should be processed into the budget and available immediately. With the continued evolution of data communication, e.g., over the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, the infrastructure required to facilitate timely exchange and availability of data is generally available.
Despite exiting technology including spreadsheet-based systems and software programs, there is a need for a method and system for facilitating information exchange between individuals and entities of an enterprise for managing resources. In particular, there is a need for a method and system for managing resources in enterprises having at least two units wherein each unit is subject to different regulations or recommended guidelines. Additionally, a need exists for a system and method for managing resources in enterprises by remote information access and exchange, e.g., over a computer network such as the Internet and/or the World Wide Web, with reduced latency.